Hopes that competitive natural gas markets—thanks in large part to the U.S. shale boom—had finally put paid to Gazprom’s ability to squeeze its Western neighbors may be premature.

Like the villain in a slasher film, returning from the dead for one last bout of terror, the state-owned gas giant looks to be reprising its tactics from 2006 and 2009, when a payment dispute led Russia to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine.

Reviving memories of past “gas wars,” Gazprom complained yesterday that Ukraine still owed it hundreds of millions of dollars that needed to be paid immediately, the Journal’s James Marson reports from Moscow.

Although Gazprom hasn’t threatened to halt deliveries, observers were quick to note that the sudden concern over Ukraine’s outstanding IOU comes a month before the former Soviet republic is due to sign a deal with the European Union that would strengthen political and trade ties.

So should Europe—which relies on Ukrainian pipelines to get some of its own gas from Russia—be gearing up for another freezing winter?

No, is the short answer, according to analysts cited in James’s report. Since those earlier crises, the European Union has moved to diversify its sources of supply away from an over-reliance on Russia.

And of course, there is the reputational damage to both Ukraine and Russia that another prolonged stand-off would bring with it.

But with Russia no stranger to using energy as a political tool, developments on the diplomatic front will need to be watched as closely as those on the Gazprom balance sheet.

TRUCKS LEAD GAS REVOLUTION

More signs of how the U.S. shale revolution is upending the world we know, this time in heavy road transportation, the lifeblood of the nation’s economy.

Enticed by the promise of cheaper running costs, operators of some of the largest U.S. truck fleets are accelerating a shift to natural-gas fueled trucks, betting on new engine technology that promises to beat diesel on price.

As the Journal’s Mike Ramsey reports, the plethora of relatively cheap U.S. natural gas is helping to spur the shift, in tandem with new natural gas engines that can power heavy-duty trucks that weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

MARKETS

Trading in oil futures was subdued Wednesday, with the market waiting for crude inventory data to be released in the U.S. December Brent on London’s ICE futures exchange up 11 cents, or 0.10%, at $109.12 a barrel. The December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 55 cents, or 0.56%, at $97.65 a barrel. You can read the Journal’s latest market report here.